Otavalo Market
The Otavalo market is about a two hour bus ride north of Quito. It’s become insanely popular as one of the must see attractions in Northern Ecuador. The local people have become famous for their textiles and crafts.
How to Arrive
- From the North: You can make a stop over in Otavalo in your border crossing from Colombia.
- From the South: Quito’s (read Quito guide here) north terminal has frequent buses throughout the day. $2.70 each way for the 2 hour ride. (note there are two terminals in Quito, you must go to the NORTH terminal for Otavalo).
When To Go
- The market is up and running seven days a week with Saturdays and Wednesdays being the busiest days.
- Animal market Saturdays from 0600 to 1200 in a lot along the main road.
- The market runs from early in the morning and some vendors will stay into the night. I went on a Saturday and noticed many vendors packing up their belongings around 3 or 4pm.
Best Tips
- Take public transportation. Tours to the market start around $40. They do stop at a few more places and include lunch but still highly expensive compared to the $5.40 you spend on the public bus.
- There are tons of people present at the market be very mindful of your belongings. Essentially this place could be a pickpockets playground.
- Leave your large camera at your hotel. I personally felt much safer snapping photos with my camera phone. It brings less attention to you and I found it much easier to snap candid photos.
- Haggling the price is all part of the experience just do so with respect. Keep in mind that for many of the vendors here this is not a weekend job. This market is their livelihood, haggling is welcomed as long as it’s done in a respectful manor. If you don’t find the price you want don’t insist, simply keep on walking chances are you’ll find the item at another table.
Buying dream catchers
Shopping for bracelets
Food
- Street Food – there are plenty of food vendors out throughout the day. Locals tell us that after 1900 the food vendors are out in full force. Unfortunately for us the last bus to Quito is also at 1900.
- Empanada Argentina – on Calle Sucre. They have great empanadas for $0.80, try the spinach and cheese.
Returning to Quito
- Last buses leave out around 1900 from the terminal. I recommend showing up a bit early to avoid missing it.
Afterthoughts
Although, I really enjoyed the market at Otavalo I can’t say that I felt it was a game changer. If you’ve been traveling South America for a while then you’ve probably seen 90% of what is being offered at this market. Still, the sheer size of it all makes it worth the visit in my opinion. Keep in mind that not everything you’ll see here is artisan, people sell any and everything they have at their disposal.
As far as the animal market goes I arrived just after 1200 so I never got to see it myself. I did meet two Israeli travelers that described it with more of a slaughter house feel than the open farm I imagined it to be.
